The Things We Remember
by GoldenFyre
Summary: Sequal to Neko No Jutsu. Now that Naruto's Hokage and he's finally got Sasuke, there's nothing left to do, right? Wrong! Some one's got to continue the Uchiha line, and that's only the beginning!
1. Set in Stone

Ah-ha! And here is the not so long awaited sequel to Neko No Jutsu! Starting with the answer to the much asked question 'Who's the mom?' All shall be revealed. And if you haven't read Neko No Jutsu, I would recommend doing so, because there are many confusing thins to those of you who haven't.

And no, in the - what, a month? Two, three, ish?- since Neko No Jutsu was finished, I have not magically gained the rights to Naruto. So no, I do not own anything you see in this chapter. I own the characters of my own invention, but they come in later.

So yeah, without further adieu, that chapter.

- - - The Things We Protest - - -

"No way. No way in HELL. Never."

"Well, it was your bloody idea!"

"Yeah, based on _your_ dream."

"I was _twelve_! The idea of revising an entire clan is a lot easier before you realize you're going to fall in love with a guy." Sasuke was almost shouting now, not really angry, but frustrated all the same. He was a great ninja and he was not going to be the one to bear a child.

"Yeah well, I never really cared about revising my family. And I can't be pregnant, I'm the Hokage." The smugness was heavy in his voice, a smirk lingered at the corner of his mouth. "Come on Sasuke, don't be such a wuss, Sakura's dealing with it just fine and she's been pregnant almost five months."

"Sakura's a GIRL! Girls do that."

"I wouldn't say that where Iruka could hear you. I showed him the jutsu and they got, um, right to work on it." His smirk had widened, and shifted till it bordered on perverted, how could it not with a statement like that.

Sasuke eyed him suspiciously. "How do you know that?"

Naruto grinned at him "I have my ways. And last month, Kakashi came a said that Iruka would need nine months off."

Sasuke snorted, than raised an eyebrow. "I thought chuunins didn't get maternity leave till at least six months?"

"Well, maybe Kakashi is over protective or something. But the point is, being pregnant doesn't make you any less of a ninja. I'd do it myself if I were aloud. But Hokage's are discouraged from having children. It's not exactly a rule, because before Tsunade, all Hokages were male, and Tsunade was considered to old to have children."

"There could be other options. Some one else could do it." Sasuke said this before he could think about it, but instantly regretted it the second that it left his mouth. A look of surprised hurt flashed across Naruto's face before it went completely blank.

"Yeah. You could do that to." Sasuke winced at the cold tone of the voice, before Naruto walked away. Sasuke was getting the feeling that he _really_ should start thinking before he said anything else.

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

"What happened?" Kyuubi asked, as Naruto came storming up to where he had been sitting and talking with Itachi. Naruto ignored him, moving right past them to the training area. Kyuubi exchanged a worried look with Itachi as Naruto started to attempt to pummel a rather large tree.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kyuubi asked as Naruto had totally destroyed one tree and was moving on to the next.

"No!" Naruto snapped, leaving a very large dent in a tree. Then, a moment later, he snarled out "He is such a bastard!"

Kyuubi turned to Itachi and mouthed 'Sasuke' at him. Itachi sighed silently, and nodded. He had been afraid of that. Well meaning or not, Sasuke had a bad habit of saying the wrong things at the wrong time. They both knew that what ever had happened had probably been over mutual stubbornness and a misunderstanding and to solve it, Naruto needed to rant, punch things, and hear an apology. Sasuke just liked to brood.

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

"Man, you _really_ screwed up this time." Itachi said, clapping his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke nodded miserably, before eyeing his brother suspiciously.

"How did you know that?" he was starting to get tired of asking that. Itachi got a slightly shifty look on his face and changed the subject. Sasuke stifled a sigh. He really hoped that it was because his brother was the Anbu captain and that therefore he just knew things. Because if that wasn't it, the only other thing that it could possibly be was that Kyuubi had been watching them with that mirror of sight again. He didn't even want to think of the last time _that_ had happened.

"Let's not bother with the details." Itachi said quickly. "Let's work on your apology."

"What apology?" Sasuke asked, a bit surprised. That had honestly not occurred to him. Itachi gave him a sharp look.

"You're never going to get anywhere with that attitude. But don't worry, I have an idea."

"Do I _want_ to know?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"Probably not. But you don't really have a choice now do you?" Itachi was smirking now.

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

"And then he says that he'd be better off sleeping with some whore!" Naruto fumed. Kyuubi nodded sympathetically, very much doubting Sasuke had said any such thing, or at least not it those words. Even Uchihas weren't that dense. Although Sasuke did have a tendency to say the wrong thing at the same time.

"What the hell is his problem?" Naruto was almost yelling at this point. "I'd be perfectly fine with doing it myself! It's not my fault that I'm Hokage and that Hokage aren't allowed to have kids! Is it my fault that they say that being pregnant might make it harder to protect the village! Is it hard to understand that being pregnant might reflect badly on the village! I want to have the kids! I can't think of anything I'd rather do than have Sasuke's kids! Is it so hard to want him to do the same for me?"

"Well, maybe Sasuke has pride issues." Kyuubi suggested

Naruto snorted bitterly "You think?"

Kyuubi gave him a sympathetic look. "Anything else?" he said, a bit sarcastically. Naruto shook his head, but Kyuubi noticed that Naruto suddenly looked more depressed, which, until that moment, he had thought impossible. Kyuu gave him a worried look and crouched down so that he would be eyelevel with Naruto. "Whats wrong?"

"Nothing." he sighed. Kyuubi gave him a Look. Naruto sighed. "I just thought. . . . never mind, it's stupid. I just, well, I thought that he would, I dunno, want to make a more permanent commitment."

"Like marriage?"

"No, not really, that's way to over the top, I don't need to spend that much money on decorations neither of us really care about, or a party we'll ditch in five minutes."

"Then what do you want?"

"I dunno, something that ties us together, a physical sign that announces that he's mind and that I'm his and there's nothing anyone can do about it. I know it's stupid, but I feel like he could just walk away at any moment, like anything could pull him away. I just, want that proof. . ."

The red head looked surprised. "oh."

Naruto laughed bitterly. "See, I told you that it was dumb."

"No it's not. Have you even thought about talking to Sasuke about this? Or do it yourself?"

Naruto laughed. "If I know Sasuke, he'd take that as a personal insult to his honour and masculinity."

Kyuubi decided that it would be best not to say anything at that point. Just because he was dating an Uchiha didn't mean that he would know everything about the one that Naruto was dating. But, he did know Itachi and knew that Itachi would probably be talking to Sasuke and, hopefully, coming up with some plan to help Naruto.

1111111111111111111111111111111111

"I'm still not sure why he get's so upset, or why he acts the way he does sometimes. He's been staring off into space almost wistfully sometimes, and I can't figure it out, and he won't tell me."

Itachi sighed, sometimes his brother was about as smart as a sack of bricks. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe he's uncertain about how you feel about him?"

"Why would he think that? I love him, he knows that."

"Yes, he does, but that doesn't mean you never should say it. He's spent all of his life with people pushing him away, of people not wanting him around, of broken promises and shattered dreams. Hokage or not, he's givin up a lot to get to that place now."

"But what can I do about that?"

Itachi smacked his forehead.

- - - Later. . . - - -

"So that's the plan. It's not to hard to follow, is it?" Itachi asked. Sasuke shook his head mutely. "Well, than what are you still standing here for? Don't you have stuff to get? Go! Shoo!" he made shooing motions with his hands, before pushing Sasuke ahead of him as he walked towards the town.

"Hey, wait?" Sasuke interjected. "What about Naruto?"

Itachi gave him a funny look "What about him? Don't worry, this will work, trust me."

"No, I mean, what if I run into him, he might still be mad at me, or he might figure out what the Plan is."

"Don't worry about that, I got it covered."

"Should I be concerned?"

Itachi laughed and stuck his tongue out.

111111111111111111111111111

"Does anyone mind explaining to me why I am being held hostage in my own house?" Naruto glared at them.

"Well, we plan to hold you for ransom, then we shall leave a ransom note demanding $500 or else. . ." Kyuubi replied, grinning.

"What? $500? Is that it? I'm worth at least $1000!"

Itachi rolled his eyes. "If you say so. But, we can't ransom you away like that. Hm, whatever will we do?" He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Hey, I know." Kyuu said, as if this were the most natural thing in the world to be discussing. "Why don't we have him change. Then we can take him some where nice and get a pretty picture to show to the nice people."

"I could wear my Hokage robes?" Naruto suggested, playing along. Both of his 'kidnappers' shook their head.

"No good." Kyuu said

"Too flashy." Itachi agreed. Naruto, who was starting to get the feeling that there was more to this than either of them were letting on, rolled his eyes.

"If you two would let me go, I could go get something nice from my closet."

"This from the boy who wore orange half his life. Plus, you'd just sneak out the window to spite us. I don't think so. I'll go get you something." Kyuubi said, before turning to the elder Uchiha "You. Watch him." he left.

"So, do either of you mind telling me what the deal is?"

"Nope."

"I could, as your superior, order you to tell me."

Itachi considered this. "You could. But where's the fun in that?"

"Oh, believe me, for me, it's a blast."

"Ah, yes, but would I listen? Because, if I recall correctly, you almost never listened to the Godaime."

Naruto did not dignify that with an answer. But, in his defensive, it could have been that he didn't have a chance to respond, as at almost that exact moment, Kyuu had jumped down the remaining steps to land on his feet, a sizeable pile of clothes in hand.

Naruto eyed the pile suspiciously "Am I going to wear all of that?"

Kyuu gave him a withering look. "No, 'Tachi and I are going to pick something nice. And you are going to wear it no complaints."

Naruto raised a sardonic eyebrow "While tied to the chair?"

"We'll just untie you."

"How kind of you." he replied, sarcasm evident in his voice. Both of the other men in the room snorted.

"Here." Said Kyuubi finally, pulling a shy blue shirt with silver trim out of the pile, then tossing some low slung black pants.

Naruto rolled his eyes as he effortlessly slid out of the bindings, before mock glaring at the red head and storming into the bathroom to change.

Itachi whistled as he emerged from the room, wearing the clothes that had been picked out for him. The blue on the shirt was a perfect match for his eyes, and made them almost sparkle in the light.

"Let's see if we can do something about your hair." Kyuu said, advancing on him with a comb in hand.

"No! I like my hair!" Naruto covered his head with his arms quickly, completely destroying the mature picture.

"Come on, it's sticking up everywhere, please?"

"No!" Naruto pouted childishly. After several moments of this, he finally relented, and allowed his blonde hair to be calmed down slightly, although it didn't do much good. Finally, Kyuubi and Itachi, his self proclaimed beauticians, declared him suitable, or 'you'll do', as they put it.

They had then proceeded to drag him a the way through the town, earning him appreciated looks and whistles, and finally coming to the base of the Hokage mountain. Itachi had pushed him forwards and told him in no uncertain terms that he was to climb to the top and stay there, no questions asked.

Needless to say, Naruto did ask multiple questions, many consisting rather violent profanity and words that can not be repeated, all of which were ignored. Finally giving up, he had flicked both of them off, and disappeared, leaving them to splutter in outrage at the poof of smoke he left behind.

Naruto, to his vast surprise, did not find the usual barren stone in front of him, but instead, spread out on the ground was a checkerd blanket, adorned with a fabulous looking feast.

"So, do you like it?" A smooth voice said from behind him. He spun quickly, seeing Sasuke standing behind him, looking almost nervous. He was wearing a silk black shirt with gold trimming, the design almost identical to Naruto's. In short, he looked hot.

Naruto, still shocked, a state not at all helped by Sasuke's appearance, nodded dumbly. Sasuke gave a small smirk. "Good."

He moved to sit down, motioning for Naruto to do the same, which he did. Sasuke, who had been half expecting this reaction, (the other half had thought that Naruto would punch him and storm off), had casually poured both of them a glass of the best sake he had been able to find.

They ate the majority of the meal in silence, but a comfortable one, which Sasuke found a bit strange, considering that Naruto had been furious with him earlier.

Naruto was starting to feel a bit nervous, Sasuke was giving him a very strange look, heated and excited and uneasy all at once. And he was fidgeting. One thing that Naruto had learned about Sasuke, he didn't fidget, ever. It just didn't happen, it would be as if Gaara started doing a song and dance routine in a slinky, sparkly dress.

"Naruto." Sasuke started, breaking the silence, and the mental image, for the first time since the meal began. "I . . . didn't mean what I said earlier."

"Didn't you?" Naruto asked, not coldly, just sounding mildly curious. But Sasuke flinched, Naruto was more upset than he let on.

"No, I didn't. I shouldn't have said that. . ." he hesitated "I'm sorry."

Naruto snorted. "Is that supposed to make it better? You say that you're sorry, and I say okay, and we kiss and pretend that it never happened? And what about next time?" he was starting to get so worked up that he didn't see Sasuke reaching into a pocket. "You're never going to give in. Am I some sort of embarrassment? Is it so painful to be see-" His mouth dropped open as the thing in Sasuke's hand was opened.

It was a ring. It was so simple, yet beautiful. It was pure silver, imbedded with a golden topaz set between two smaller sapphires that sparkled with a fiery blue. The topaz glowed in the dying sunlight. Naruto's mouth had dropped open and his entire world had centred around the tiny piece of jewellery.

Eventually, it occurred to him that there was indeed a person attached to this ring, and that they were almost certainly expecting some sort of response. He looked up to meet deep cobalt eyes, his eyes glowing in hope and his voice breathless as he said, cautiously, softly.

"Does this mean what I think it does?"

Sasuke's eyes were warmer than he had ever seen him, except for that day in the woods when they had first kissed. "That depends." he replied, voice equally soft. "What do you think it means? If you think that it means that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, than yes. If you think that it means that I would do anything to make you happy, than yes. And if you think that it means that one answer from you could make me happier than I've ever been, then yes, it means exactly what you think it means."

Naruto was fighting back tears, his eyes wide in an almost comical fashion. He stared at Sasuke for a moment, who looked almost nervous, as if unsure as to what Naruto's reaction would be. Naruto figured that it would be best to give him a solid answer, for Sasuke's sake, mind you.

He flung himself at the startled Uchiha, who didn't have time to move, even if he had wanted to. He found himself with a large armful of an almost sobbing blonde. "Why the hell am I crying?" the aforementioned blonde mumbled, swiping uselessly at his eyes. Sasuke smiled softly down at him.

"I love you, dobe. And never forget it. I want you to always wear this, so you'll always think of me. And Ill wear one to, so you'll know that I'm always thinking about you. Although I don't need a ring to do that."

". . .yours? You have one too?"

Sasuke nodded and grinned drawing a small chain from around his neck, on it was a ring almost identical to the one Naruto now had clutched in his grip, except it was a large sapphire set between two smaller topaz's. He drew out another chain from his neck, hooked Naruto's ring on it and carefully clipped it around the blonde neck.

"There. Now it's official. I'm yours and you're mine."

Naruto's were glowing with happiness. "Mine." he whispered, nuzzling into the warmth that was Sasuke.

- - - Emd Chapter 1 - - -

It's soooo sappy! I ca't believe I wrote this! But anyway, for those of you reading Sound Of Lies, that won't be updated for at least three weeks, I have camp, and I decided to focus on this, since where I'm plannning to end the next xhapter of Sound Of Lies is on a really big cliffie, so you'd have to wait a really long time

. I thought that this'd be nicer, sorry it's no beta-ed. I leave in 45 minutes.


	2. The Whole Kit and Caboodle

- - Start Chapter - - -

It was a well known fact that ninja's rarely did weddings. It had been done many, many years in the past, but it was, as Shikamaru put it, rather troublesome, to have to go kick enemy ass while wearing such nice clothes, since too many people, ninja weddings many ninja's in one place perfect opportunity for mass murders. This began the tradition of eloping, which made everyone involved rather unhappy. So then weddings were conducted in the utmost secrecy. But, all too soon, this to started to wear on peoples nerves, so, although ninja weddings were permissible, they were highly discouraged.

This was perfectly fine with Naruto and Sasuke, who had never really wanted one anyway. Sakura and Ino were both rather displeased at having been cheated out of 'their' wedding party, but it wasn't wise to argue with Sasuke. So, for all that they cared, they had said all that needed to be said the day that Sasuke had proposed, and any one who thought differently could shove it.

None of their friends could really argue. Hard though it was to keep any wedding secret, to keep the marriage of the Hokage hidden would be damn near impossible. Although for them, it wasn't enemy ninjas they feared.

No, they feared something far, far worse. They feared a force that no skill that they would ever learn could defeat. It was a horrible thing, feared throughout many years by males that spanned across dimensions and other manga's. They feared the Yaoi Fangirls.

However, it was very unusual for the Hokage to 'marry' anyone, as they were usually married when they came to the office, or they simply did not get married. And it was more unusual still to have it be between two members of the same gender.

But, as it was, it was still an issue that some villages might be offended that they had not been invited to this grand event. The fact that it had not even happened in the first place was of no importance to them. This was a matter that required great political tact.

"I don't give a damn what they say they'll do!" Unfortunately, this was as close as it got.

"I and Sasuke are tired, our village just got out of a war, and we don't need to add any more of that than we absolutely need to." He gestured to the window, where one girl was peering in hopefully. When she saw him looking, however, she squeaked and hid.

Tsunade sighed. "I see your point. But we need to do something to please the other villages."

Tsunade was his temporary advisor until someone else could be found. This was partly so that the others would still think that Naruto was new at this, and not figure out that he had actually been doing most of this since his was 15. It was partly so that some people could still think that Konoha was now being run by an idiot. Underestimation is one of the strongest advantages a side can have.

"Already got it covered. I figure that if we send a powerful Konoha nin to each of the villages, as an envoy, then we could work with the villages on a more personal level. I was thinking that we could send Neji to Sand for starters. Then we could send one of the more senior members of the Iburame clan to the land hidden in the rocks."

"Well, what about the other villages?" she insisted, slightly put out at not getting to enjoy a wedding and the gambling opportunities that it would present. Naruto waved a hand at her in a slightly annoyed fashion.

"Details, details." he said carelessly. Tsunade sighed again. Naruto seemed to have that effect on her. On most of his staff, really. He tended to give rather vague, big-picture orders, than left it to everyone else so figure out how to do that. Then, when they had finally finished, he would blink at them in confusion, saying that he had already thought of most of it anyway. He was a headache waiting to happen. But nowadays that was nothing compared to. . .

"What do you mean TO BUSY?" . . . Sasuke. There was a muffled sound of wood splintering, and Tsunade was willing to bet anything that it was the new desk in their lobby. Sasuke, well into his third month of pregnancy, was prone to rather violent mood swings, leaving him even more moody than before, a feat which she had not thought possible.

The door to the Rokudaime's office slammed open, but did not shatter or even splinter as lesser doors would have. The first and second Hokages had been smart, and made allowances in the architecture for the force of angry ninjas. Sasuke was storming towards them, looking like the force of evil that he probably wasn't, though with Sasuke you never really knew.

"You." he growled as he grabbed Naruto. "Have been working all damn week, and I just got back from the worst mission of my life. I am taking you home with me, and you. Are. going. to. like. It." he was dragging Naruto behind him at this point, pausing only briefly to shoot a venomous glare towards Tsunade, as if daring her to protest. She didn't .

Naruto only shrugged at her in a 'what can you do' manner, but didn't seem to be the least bit displeased at the turn of events. Tsunade heaved a sigh, not that Naruto not being here made a difference, whenever Sasuke was gone for more than three days; he tended to get nervous, this time being no exception. Oh well, at least she could relax now.

2222222222222222222222222222222222222222222

"If you give me one more mission like that, I will kill you." Sasuke hissed into Naruto's face. Naruto only blinked innocently, a look that was utterly lost on Sasuke. Relenting, Naruto sighed.

"It was the only thing left, Sasuke. The rest were all S-class or beginning gennin D-class."

"I don't care if I have to go on an assassination." at this Naruto winced, his eyes subconsciously flicking down to Sasuke's stomach, which had widened a fraction to make way for the new life within it. "or even on guard duty, but if I have to escort one more spoiled bimbo climbing all over me and , I can guarantee that I will fail the mission, since I highly doubt that the whole 'dead or alive' thing applies to this sort of thing."

Naruto blinked as Sasuke's rant came to an end, fighting back the momentary fury at the thought of one of those girls on _his_ Sasuke. He pushed it down to a dull fizzle under his skin, and ignored it at the moment. "I didn't know that they were that bad."

Sasuke scowled. "The last two were the worst. The first one actually tried to attack me, so I told her that I was married. She actually demanded to see the ring, if you can believe that." his hand, whether he realized it or not, reached up to brush against the ring on a chain around his neck "and then she kept hanging on, telling me how she could give me more than my wife"-Naruto glowered-"ever could, that she was a _real_ woman, etc. The second girl, I thought I'd go further, and told her I was expecting a child soon." he shuddered "Never. Ever tell a woman that. Thank god I didn't mention I was the one who was pregnant"

Naruto didn't press for details, tallying it on his 'don't want to know' list. Suddenly, he smirked, his eyes lighting up as he did so. "I have an idea." his voice was mischievous. "A new position has opened up, and personally, I think that you would be highly qualified for the job."

Sasuke was regarding him with a blatant suspicion. "What is it?"

"Weeeeell." Naruto drew the word out. "How about guarding someone of higher rank than those girls, and with more on their minds then the latest fashions. Like, say, the Hokage."

Now it was Sasuke's turn to blink "You don't have an opening there."

Naruto's smirk widened. "I do now." Sasuke was giving him a Look, so he decided that it would be in his best interest to elaborate. "Some of Tsunade-baba's old guards are less than thrilled over, well, me, and I get the feeling that one of them would be very helpful should it come to a genuine fight. Not to say that either of them would betray me, but they may be more hesitant than is necessarily helpful in a life or death situation."

Sasuke appeared to be thinking this over, and a corner of Naruto's mouth twitched upward even further. "Not to mention that Kira has been suffering from a near concussion since that time that you slammed the door open on him."

Sasuke has the grace to look sheepish, but sighed nevertheless. "Alright. But when all this is over I get to go back to regular high class missions, right?"

Naruto looked as though he would very much like to say no, but he was fairly certain that Sasuke would, to put it mildly, take it badly, so he shrugged grudgingly. "Fair enough, I suppose. As soon as Kakashi's got his team onto their chuunin ranks, I'm going to make him a guard. Somehow he ended up teaching Konohamaru and his group, and by the time they're through with him, he'll be jump at the chance."

Sasuke shared his smirk, though for an entirely different reason. "Speaking of positions" he purred. "If I'm your bodyguard, who will guard your body from me?"(1)

Naruto felt his eyes widen at the blatant seduction attempt, and wisely deciding against commenting on one of the worst come-on lines that he'd ever hear, unwilling to lose his chance. Sasuke's sex drive had been all over the place in the last few months, and, does to a long series on bad luck; his up moments seemed to occur in the middle of either Sasuke's missions or Naruto's.

Though the rumours that he had heard about something that one spoiled girl had seen were always enough to make Naruto start grinning. Naruto drew himself out of his reverie. He had far; he let his gaze flick over Sasuke, _far_ more important things to worry about.

Naruto's cerulean eyes glimmered with amusement and love, and Sasuke felt himself fall all over again, surrounded by blonde hair and a smooth baritone, lust and adoration blending into harmony as a grin tugged on Naruto's lips.

"Guarding me? Well, it's just my iron will, now isn't it? But it's been rather insubstantial lately, so I guess I'm defenseless." he started to walk down the hall toward the bedroom, sending a smoldering look over his shoulder at Sasuke, who had been admiring the view. "So, are you going to do anything about it or not?"

Sasuke pounced, muffling Naruto's delighted laughter with his own mouth.

222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222

"A pound of apples, god Sasuke, a whole pound?" Naruto shook his head despairingly, pushing the cart forward some more and continuing to mutter the contents of his list aloud. "Three salmon, rye bread, gourmet noodles, kiwi flavoured soda." he paused, his nose wrinkling. "Ew." he moved a bit further, his sensitive ears catching the sound of a familiar voice on the next row over.

"Cauliflower, pineapple, Swiss cheese, peanut butter, wasabi-"

"I hope he doesn't plan to eat that all at once." Naruto commented smoothly. Kakashi, not missing a beat, replied smoothly. "But with those craving he's been having, you never know." They shared a collective wince. Kakashi shot him a sideways look.

"The Hokage does his own grocery shopping?" There was a highly amused quality to his voice. Naruto scowled.

"Not when Sasuke is involved, apparently. Last time I got one of the kids in my office to do the shopping, and Sasuke started throwing things everywhere because it was the wrong brand of pears, or something like that."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Kid? Isn't everyone in that office older than you?"

"Well, technically yes, but clearly as Hokage, my maturity and all around awesomeness far outstrips theirs." his voice was teasing, and Kakashi grinned behind his mask. Yes, his students had grown up, but that had grown up well.

"Ah yes, oh wise Hokage, but if such is as you say, then why are you the one doing the shopping. Does it have anything to do with the fact that you, despite your infinite wisdom, can not say no to Sasuke?"

Naruto, with all his 'infinite wisdom and maturity', stuck his tongue out.

222222222222222222222222222222222222222222

It was early June when it happened. Sasuke had been suddenly and completely been seized by the urge to clean, paint, and shop for the room that the baby would soon occupy. Startled almost to the point of alarm at this out of character behavior, Naruto had consulted Tsunade, who had explained that such a thing was natural, it was known as nesting, and that this was to be expected, because the baby was, after all, to be born just two months from now.

Iruka's, however, was to be born less than a month from then, and the two of them were panicking in a slightly less than dignified for highly trained ninja's, and it wasn't until Sakura's mother, (because her daughter had been taught by both of them) and come to them and told exactly what they could do with themselves in the remaining weeks.

"I want yellow." Sasuke had announced as they surveyed the blank wall, multiple colour strips taped to random parts of the wall. Naruto, who had been admiring a shade of pale red, blinked.

"Why?" he asked honestly.

"I like the colour yellow." Sasuke replied blandly, and Naruto saw the dark gaze flicker up to his hair before returning to meet his eyes. He blushed. "And." Sasuke continued, ignoring this, though a small smile lingered at the corners of his mouth. "It's a very neutral colour, boy or girl, it's a fair call."

Naruto, his face still a bit pink, could only nod, and Sasuke found himself smirk even wider. If the other villages knew how easy it was to make the Honourable Hokage blush like a teenage girl, he very much doubted that Naruto would ever be able to command so much respect again.

22222222222222222222222222222222222

The day was June 27, hot, but not to much so, and Sasuke, having convinced Naruto to paint the room yellow, was now attempting to figure out where exactly the large crib would look the best. It was a golden shade of wood, from a very rare type of tree that had been a gift for a foreign embassy whose daughter had let it slip that her protector was to be a father.

Sasuke was standing to the side of the room, regarding it with pride, and Naruto smiled at the innocence of it all. That for once, they were doing something that did not involve killing, did not involve enemy ninja's. or chakra, or sneaking around. Just the two of them, trying to make for their child.

"It looks nice." Sasuke murmured after a moment, as was rewarded by his husband's radiant smile. They both knew that, as Hokage, Naruto could have ordered people to build this room for them, but both of the, that it was something personal that belonged to them and them alone.

Naruto was on a ladder, attempting to hang a mobile from the ceiling, and to which view Sasuke was referring to was unclear. Naruto finally hooked the stupid mobile on the hook that Sasuke had put in before Naruto had forbidden him to go up that high while pregnant. The mobile smacked him several times in the head before he was able to safely climb down. He glanced over to see Sasuke trying uselessly to hide his laughter.

Naruto grinned along, content just to watch Sasuke for ages. The past year was almost like a dream to him. He was Hokage, people respected him, he had Sasuke, and he was going to have a son or daughter!! Sure, being Hokage wasn't all fun and games, and not everyone respected him. And Sasuke did tend to get a little moody, especially in the last month or so, but to be honest, Naruto could care less.

Sasuke was gasping for air now, his hand moving down to hold his stomach, and Naruto, watching him contedly, lost in his own thoughts, took a moment to realize that Sasuke was no longer laughing.

Naruto was at his side in a second, grasping Sasuke's hand tightly in his own and trying to soothe Sasuke as best he could. It took a few moments before Sasuke finally straightened up, but as soon as he did, he doubled over again, clutching Naruto's hand as if it were a lifeline.

"Sasuke?" Naruto whispered, irrationally scared that the slightest breath would cause Sasuke to break. Sasuke, still sucking in air desperately, lifted his head just enough that his obsidian eyes met Naruto's blue ones, and managed to gasp out a single word. "Baby."

Naruto felt the world beneath his spin as the bottom dropped out of his stomach. They were coming! Their child was coming!! Finally, after all this waiting, here they were. But then his eyes met Sasuke's once again, and he knew that he had to do something. He gently released Sasuke's hand, but Sasuke just held it tighter.

"Don't go." He whispered, and Naruto nodded, his mind searching desperately for a way to help, without leaving Sasuke. His eyes roved around them room, an action of pure habit, missions relied on your ability to see everything, and if he didn't know what to do, there was something you couldn't see.

His eyes landed on the soft, sky blue blanket stretched over the small mattress, tiny kitsunes roaming freely on the surface. Of course. Kyuubi!!

He retreated into his mind, searching for the bond that linked his with his foster brother, who also happened to be his brother in law. He grinned in triumph as he 'located' Kyuubi, but it was short lived as Sasuke made another stifled noise of pain, and clutched at Naruto's hand tighter.

Naruto, to worried at this point to even remember the points of courtesy, and, instead of calling out to Kyuu to come , please, he took the mental cord connecting them in his 'hands' and _yanked_. He felt a moment's resistance as space and matter stretched, then a faint pop as Kyuu appeared next to him in a tangled heap.

"What the hell was that for!" he shouted, and for answer, Naruto jerked his head toward Sasuke. Kyuubi's eyes widened as he took in the scene, and even further when he realized what it meant. Naruto, however, was not so shocked.

"Get Sakura. And Tsunade, if you can. Tell them what you want, but get them here now!" his voiced was laced with the firm leadership that had become stronger during his reign as Hokage, and also with something that bordered on hysteria, thought whether it was joy, fear, or both, Kyuubi couldn't tell ."Go!"

He nodded, and disappered. The seconds stretched on like hours, and Naruto cursed mentally as he realizred that, of course, Sasuke would go into labour while in the only room without furniture. That was just the way it worked, wasn't it?

A faint popping noise marked Kyuubi's return, and he looked up eagerly, he was sure that if Sasuke gripped any tighter, he really would break his hand. There was no doubt that Sasuke possessed the strength to do so.

Sakura was at his side in a moment. Her well-trained hands were checking Sasuke's pulse, his breathing, and his temperature. She put her hand against his stomach, and swore loudly.

Naruto was to busy agreeing with her to be shocked by her out of character use of profanity.

"We can't move him like this, it's to late. Kyuubi, see if you can drag a bed in here. Is Itachi getting Tsunade-san?" At Kyuu's nod, she smiled faintly. "I'm going to do the best I can but Tsunade-san is much better at this than I am." She stood up and headed towards the bedroom door "Naruto, you stay and watch after him, I'm going to get some water and some rags, alright?"

Naruto nodded but she was fairly sure that he had only half heard her, he was so caught up in Sasuke. Sakura, pregnant with her own child, scurried out the door. Naruto, barely even noticing her exit, wiped some of the sweat off of Sasuke's brow. "Are you alright?" he whispered.

Sasuke scowled and tightened his grip. "I'm not a girl." He forced out between clenched teeth. Naruto bit back the obvious retort to this, saying instead.

"Be that as it may, you are still giving birth and I'm going to help you through this if it kills me." Sasuke opened his mouth again, but was interrupted by another 'pop' and Itachi and Tsunade appered. Itachi, ever the older brother, was at his side in a second.

"Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere? Is he going to be fine? How long is this going to take? Is it going to hurt? Is-"

Naruto was trying not to laugh, but Sasuke was scowling again.

"Itachi, calm down. You are a trained shinobi, and an Anbu squad leader, now act like one." Naruto snapped as Itachi showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. "If you want to make yourself useful, go help Sakura with the water." Itachi gave a hasty salute, something that Naruto had never seen his do before, and hastened out the door in the direction that Sakura had gone.

Tsunade, bent down so that she to was on level with Sasuke. "Breath." She ordered. "In, out, in, out." Sasuke mimicked her feeling rather foolish, and altogether to much like someone on an old sitcom. The sound of metal scraping on wood met their ear, and they looked up in time to see Kyuubi carrying a cot through the door, and the metal legs were getting caught on the door frame.

Sasuke scowled again. Great, he had just painted that too. Kyuu finally managed to get it through the door way, and placed it carefully as close to Sasuke as he could without it being on top of him. "Are we going to try and move him?"

"We have to. I can hardly help him down here, and it won't do him any good either. But we'll have to wait for Itachi to come back."

Naruto, for the first time that day, scowled himself. He didn't need anyones help to take care of his husband. "I'll do it." He growled. He picked Sasuke up bridal style, ignoring the fact that Sasuke seemed to be attempting to hit him, and placed him gently on the makeshift bed.

Kyuubi, thinking quickly, grabbed the nearest thing to a chair, the stool, and placed it directly behind Naruto, who sat quickly, crooning comforts to Sasuke, who was now biting into his lower lip in an effort not to make any noise.

"Um. . ." Tsunade started nervously. "There's something else we need to do too" Naruto raised an eyebrow at her hesitant tone.

'Well, we're going to need to take his pants off. But I think I'll leave that to you Naruto." She said quickly. Naruto nodded curtly, muttering something that sounded vaguely like 'Yeah, you'd better'. Tsunade averted her eyes as Naruto removed the pants, then covered Sasuke up with a sheet.

Sakura and Itachi entered, Itachi holding a basin full of water, Sakura carrying a small pile of linens. "Perfect timing Sakura!" Tsunade exclaimed, rising to take the rags from her, and indicating that Itachi should put that basin on the ground. "Alright, this may be a challenge, seeing as I never learned to jelp a guy give birth, because we never actually anticipated that coming-"

"That's Naruto for you." Kyuubi shrugged

"But we're going to get through this anyway. Itachi, you heat the water, but don't burn the carpet. Sakura, get some of the rags wet before he does that and give them to Naruto. Naruto, you just keep Sasuke calm and cooled down. Kyuubi, stand by me, and hand stuff to me as I need it."

2222222222222222222222222222222222222222222

Two painful hours later, Sasuke held a blond baby with blue eyes, Naruto leaning over his shoulder. "He's beautiful." Naruto to whispered, and Sasuke nodded.

"What are you going to name him?" Sakura asked, also staring in awe at the boy. He was the first baby of their generation, son of the Sixth Hokage, adn destined to be a legend like his parents before him, and theirs before them. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances.

"Ryou." They said in unison. "It means dragon." Said Naruto "And symbolizes strength and cleverness." Sasuke finished.

"Perfect."

---------------------------------

Yay!! Finished!! Aren't you happy!! I know I am!! I'm so sorry that I took so long to update, and I'm sure that this chapter is a bit of a let down, but I've said before, I never wanted the pregnancy to be the main part of the story. That was never my intention. I personally dislike m-preg fics, though I will read them if they're good. But the point is, I touched in the mainer points that people wanted to see, not much but still. This story was meant to be a story about the kids, and that's what I'm doing.

Don't worry, the other chapters will come out a lot faster. This was the hardest part for me, partly because I couldn't research pregnancy because it would cause awkward questions, and even IF my parents believed that it was for a fic, they'd want to read it, and that would not end well. For anyone.

Sorry this chapter is a bit rushed and well, bad, but I plan to repost it, so feel free (read as; please do) point out problems, or things I should fix/add.


End file.
